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1109209

	registered interest
	date	02/04/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Support for Mortgage Interest
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of replacing the Support for Mortgage Interest scheme with a loans-based system from April 2018.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	240106
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/04/2019 answer text <p>Support for Mortgage Interest is designed to provide protection against the threat of repossession. The new loans system provides exactly the same level of support and provides exactly the same level of protection from repossession as the previous system. We continue to work closely with the lending industry to ensure the scheme delivers its intended aim. The conversion of SMI from a benefit to a loan is estimated to save around £140m in welfare spending.</p><p> </p><p>The Department is using evidence from a number of sources to assess the impact of the conversion to a loan on an on-going basis, including management information on claimant take up and feedback from stakeholder groups, including via our regular liaison with UK Finance, to assess whether there are unintended consequences for particular groups.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 08/04/2019 12:59:13 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1109219

	registered interest
	date	02/04/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of her Department ensuring that (a) work capability and (b) personal independence payment assessments are undertaken by suitably qualified staff.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	240107
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/04/2019 answer text <p>Health Professionals that carry out Work Capability and Personal Independence Payment assessments on behalf of the department must have the following qualifications and experience:</p><p> </p><p>• are an occupational therapist, nurse (level 1), physiotherapist, doctor or (paramedic - PIP only)</p><p>• fully registered with the relevant licensing body (doctors must have a licence to practise)</p><p>• the licensing body has not placed restrictions on the health professional's registration</p><p>• at least 2 years post full registration experience.</p><p> </p><p>Health Professionals are subject to a rigorous recruitment process followed by a comprehensive training programme in disability assessment for both physical and mental health conditions and have to be approved by the department. Health Professionals are then required to complete a programme of continuing professional development.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 08/04/2019 11:05:11 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1121428

	registered interest
	date	11/04/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Pensioners: Social Security Benefits
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to ensure older people in difficult financial circumstances can access to the benefits they are entitled to.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	244186
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring that older people receive the support they are entitled to and the DWP targets activity on engaging with people who may be eligible to benefits at pivotal stages, such as when they claim State Pension or report a change in their circumstances. The DWP uses a wide range of channels to communicate information about benefits to potential customers; including information on <a href="https://gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://gov.uk/</a>, in leaflets and by telephone. People wishing to claim Pension Credit can do so by calling 0800 99 1234. DWP staff in Pension Centres and Jobcentres including visiting officers are able to provide help and advice about entitlement to benefits, as are staff in Local Authorities who administer Housing Benefit.</p><p> </p><p>One of the best ways to reach eligible customers is through trusted stakeholder working in the community and we have developed the Pension Credit toolkit, as an on-line tool for agencies and welfare rights organisations to use in order to encourage Pension Credit take-up. It can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit</a></p><p> </p><p>The toolkit contains resources for anyone working with pensioners and includes guides to Pension Credit. It also contains publicity material and guidance designed to help older people understand how they could get Pension Credit and help organisations support someone applying for Pension Credit as well as ideas for encouraging take-up. The toolkit also provides links to information about disability and carers benefits.</p><p> </p><p>Most recently we have provided to relevant organisations a fact sheet about Pension Credit and forthcoming changes for couples to ensure that accurate information is available in the places where people are most likely to seek information.</p><p> </p><p>The majority of people of pension age in receipt of a State Pension or another social security benefit receive their annual winter fuel payment automatically without the need to make a claim.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 24/04/2019 13:12:33 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1137007

	registered interest
	date	04/07/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Personal Independence Payment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people who decided not to pursue an appeal for personal independence payments due to the length of the waiting time for an appeal.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	273493
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2019 answer text <p>There is no administrative data held that could determine the reasons why an individual, if dissatisfied with the decision received after their MR is completed, might not choose to pursue an appeal with HMCTS.</p><p> </p><p>There is already some data in the public domain that may be of interest. The Personal Independent Payment (PIP) Official Statistics holds information on the volumes of Mandatory Reconsiderations (MRs) registered (<em>Table 7A</em>) and cleared (<em>Table 7B</em>), and can be found here:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-independence-payment-april-2013-to-april-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-independence-payment-april-2013-to-april-2019</a></p><p> </p><p>The Ministry of Justice Tribunal Statistics Quarterly publication contains the number of PIP cases for which an appeal is lodged with Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) (<em>Table SSCS1</em>), and can be found here:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunal-statistics-quarterly-january-to-march-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunal-statistics-quarterly-january-to-march-2019</a></p><p> </p><p>HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HCMTS) is taking positive steps to reduce the waiting time for appeals to be heard in the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) jurisdiction. In 2018, 232 medical members and 118 disability-qualified members were additionally appointed to the SSCS jurisdiction and an extra 129 fee-paid judges have recently been appointed. The SSCS jurisdiction will also benefit from 100 salaried judges and 170 fee-paid judges being recruited across tribunals more widely. In addition, HMCTS is developing a new digital system with a view to enabling speedier processing of appeals and a better service for all parties to the proceedings. Case-management “triage” sessions are also being conducted, with the aim of reducing the number of cases that need to progress to an oral hearing.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 10/07/2019 15:18:58 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1139350

	registered interest
	date	16/07/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	European Social Fund
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of employment support projects that are funded by the European Social Fund.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	277848
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>European Social Fund (ESF) projects aim to increase labour market participation, promote social inclusion and develop the skills of the potential and existing workforce, including amongst the most vulnerable people in society.</p><p> </p><p>To date, 363 projects have set out to achieve this within the current England ESF programme (this figure excludes technical assistance projects), amounting to total investment worth £3.65 billion, around £2 billion of which is EU funded. This figure will increase as further projects are agreed and delivered over the lifetime of the programme.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 22/07/2019 14:34:47 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1144424

	registered interest
	date	03/09/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit: Pilot Schemes
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to her oral contribution of 22 July 2019 on Universal Credit managed migration, Official Report, column 1149-1150, if she will publish the advice she received from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments on the use of a negative Statutory Instrument for a pilot of managed migration and payments to severely disabled people who lost out in transferring to Universal Credit.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	286363
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.</p><p /><p /> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 09/09/2019 16:35:05 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1144425

	registered interest
	date	03/09/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit: Pilot Schemes
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to her oral contribution on 22 July 2019 on Unviersal Credit managed migration, Official Report, column 1149-1150, on what date her Department received advice from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments on the use of a negative Statutory Instrument for a pilot of managed migration and payments to severely disabled people who lost out in transferring to universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	286364
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.</p><p /><p /> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 09/09/2019 16:35:46 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1147991

	registered interest
	date	02/10/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Thomas Cook: Insolvency
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what dedicated emergency support her Department has put in place to help and advise Thomas Cook members of staff who have lost their jobs.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	293716
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2019 answer text <p>DWP stands ready to support anyone affected by the closure of Thomas Cook, with our Rapid Response Service (RRS) offer. This is a redundancy service designed to give support and advice to employers and their employees when faced with redundancy. It is coordinated nationally by the National Employer and Partnership Team (NEPT) and is managed by Jobcentre Plus.</p><p> </p><p>The RRS has been mobilised to help people find a new job as soon as possible by offering tailored support. Each Jobcentre Plus district deploy resources according to the situation and the requirements of the workforce. The RRS is delivered in partnership with a range of national and local partners, including National Careers Service and local service providers.</p><p> </p><p>NEPT have contacted several large employers and trade bodies to identify a range of opportunities for Thomas Cook members of staff who have lost their jobs and the Department is working closely with over 100 employers to offer support and opportunities. We are delivering over 65 Job Fairs nationally, where ex-employees can meet local employers with vacancies.</p><p> </p><p>The full range of support available from Jobcentre Plus and partners includes:</p><p> </p><ul><li>Information advice and guidance.</li><li>Connecting people to jobs in the labour market.</li><li>Help with job search including CV writing, interview skills, where to find jobs and how to apply for them.</li><li>Help to identify transferable skills and skills gaps (linked to the local labour<br> market).</li><li>Training to update skills, learn new ones and gain industry recognised<br> certification that will improve employability.</li><li>Help to overcome barriers to attending training or securing a job or <br> self-employment such as child care costs, necessary tools, work clothes, travel costs etc.</li><li>On-site presentations to those affected.</li><li>Job Fairs and Job Clubs where appropriate.</li></ul><p> </p><p>Our local teams are monitoring all new claims to benefits to identify where the claimant is an ex-employee of Thomas Cook so that they quickly receive the right level of support.</p><p> </p><p>The information requested on the number of ex-employees who have been offered alternative employment opportunities is not available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies grouped question UIN 293717 question first answered 07/10/2019 17:05:18 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1147992

	registered interest
	date	02/10/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Thomas Cook: Insolvency
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employees of Thomas Cook who have lost their jobs following the company's collapse have been offered alternative employment opportunities as of 2 October 2019.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	293717
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2019 answer text <p>DWP stands ready to support anyone affected by the closure of Thomas Cook, with our Rapid Response Service (RRS) offer. This is a redundancy service designed to give support and advice to employers and their employees when faced with redundancy. It is coordinated nationally by the National Employer and Partnership Team (NEPT) and is managed by Jobcentre Plus.</p><p> </p><p>The RRS has been mobilised to help people find a new job as soon as possible by offering tailored support. Each Jobcentre Plus district deploy resources according to the situation and the requirements of the workforce. The RRS is delivered in partnership with a range of national and local partners, including National Careers Service and local service providers.</p><p> </p><p>NEPT have contacted several large employers and trade bodies to identify a range of opportunities for Thomas Cook members of staff who have lost their jobs and the Department is working closely with over 100 employers to offer support and opportunities. We are delivering over 65 Job Fairs nationally, where ex-employees can meet local employers with vacancies.</p><p> </p><p>The full range of support available from Jobcentre Plus and partners includes:</p><p> </p><ul><li>Information advice and guidance.</li><li>Connecting people to jobs in the labour market.</li><li>Help with job search including CV writing, interview skills, where to find jobs and how to apply for them.</li><li>Help to identify transferable skills and skills gaps (linked to the local labour<br> market).</li><li>Training to update skills, learn new ones and gain industry recognised<br> certification that will improve employability.</li><li>Help to overcome barriers to attending training or securing a job or <br> self-employment such as child care costs, necessary tools, work clothes, travel costs etc.</li><li>On-site presentations to those affected.</li><li>Job Fairs and Job Clubs where appropriate.</li></ul><p> </p><p>Our local teams are monitoring all new claims to benefits to identify where the claimant is an ex-employee of Thomas Cook so that they quickly receive the right level of support.</p><p> </p><p>The information requested on the number of ex-employees who have been offered alternative employment opportunities is not available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies grouped question UIN 293716 question first answered 07/10/2019 17:05:18 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1147993

	registered interest
	date	02/10/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Thomas Cook: Insolvency
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to provide pension protection for Thomas Cook staff.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	293718
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2019 answer text <p>Thomas Cook schemes provide both Defined Contribution and Defined Benefit pensions.</p><p> </p><p>Defined Contribution pensions are operated independently of Thomas Cook, with funds held separately. Pension pots will not be affected and will continue to be invested on behalf of the members. If there are unpaid pension contributions the Insolvency Service can make payments out of the National Insurance Fund within specified limits.</p><p> </p><p>The Thomas Cook Defined Benefit pension schemes are protected by the Pension Protection Fund. These schemes are well funded and are able to continue to paying out pensions to their members. The Pension Protection Fund will assess whether it will need to take responsibility for payments in the future. Payments cannot be lower than the level of Pension Protection Fund compensation – which is 100% of pension for those currently above the scheme retirement age, and 90% subject to a cap for those who are younger, but this may be higher.</p><p> </p><p>The trustees of the Defined Benefit pension schemes are in touch with members. The Pension Protection Fund has provided contact details if members have questions.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 08/10/2019 13:29:50 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury